Heel



July 20 1926. 1,592,839

L. S. SIEGFRlED HEEL Filed Jan. 1924 I INVENTOR $0021? '5: 5

W ATTORNEY Patented July 20, 1926.

' LOUIS S. SIEGFRIED, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HEEL.

Application filed Iananry as, 1924. Serial m. 688,916.

This invention relates to heels for boots or shoes. More particularly,it is directed to improvements in heels of this character known asrubber heels designed. to ease and lessen the shock of contact. a

The' various types of rubber heels heretofore made have somewhat servedthis purpose but to a limited extent only by reason of the fact that sofar as I am aware, no

rubber heel has heretofore been made which conforms in mechanicalfunctioning and structure to the mechanism in the body for resisting andabsorbing shocks. The shock incident to the impact of the heel against 1hard surfaces, like pavements, registers itself up the spinal column. Itis known that a shock absorbin mechanism is provided in the body for tlie purpose of overcoming or lessening any damage that may result fromthe ordinary shocks that necessarily occur in the normal functioning ofthe body, as for example in walking, running, jumpin and the like. Thisbody mechanism briefly consists in intervertebral discs conforming inshape to the shapes of the body of the vertebrae and interposed betweeneach pair of vertebrae so as to contact with them. These intervertebraldiscs are composed of hard fibrous tissuetermed annulus fibrosis whichforms the protecting covering and which is possemed of a certain amountof resiliency. The interior of the disc comprises a softer, moreresilient inner mass of tissue of pulp nature termed the nucleuspulposis, whic is the tissue that performs the shock absorbing function.

It has occurred to me that largely more effective and efficient resultscould be .obtained by providing a rubber heel construction which shallconform to this physiological and anatomical structure so that themechanical shock absorbing means provided by the rubber heel shallfunction as nearly as may be-the same mariner as the correspondingphysiological and anatomical means.

The object, therefore, of my invention is p to provide a rubber heelconstruction which shall perform the shock absorbing function in ahighly eflicient and effective manner, and which shall yet be simple inconstruction, comparatively cheap to manufacture and comfortable to thewearer.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described and of which thescope of application will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the variouspossible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a bottom lan view of the heel embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is an elevational view in cross-section of the heel taken alongline 22 of Fig. l and shown applied to a shoe.

Referring in detail to the drawing, my newly improved heel is seen tocomprise an outer ring 10 of comparatively hard rubber of somewhatthe'same consistency as the rubber employed in rubber heels asheretofore made, and of the usual configuration and dimensions. Thisouter rin is provided with recesses 10 for the nai s or other means forsecuring the heel to the shoe. Enclosed and protected by this outer ringis the inner core 11 of softer, more elastic rubber having a high degreeof resiliency. This inner core corresponds to the pulpy mam of theintervertebral discs above referred to and does the real work of takingup the shock, while the outer hard rubber 1O acts as a support andprotector and to give body to the heel.

For the proper functioning of the heel it should be directly attached tothe bottom sole of the shoe and not to the comparatively thick hardleather heel portion to which rubber heels as heretofore made aresecured, since it is essential that the pressure of the heel of the'footshould act directlyupon the soft resilient inner core 11. To this end,in place of the hard leather heel, I preferably make the inner corearched as at 11 and superimposed on the improved rubber heel a la er ofsoft leather 12 of uneven thickness, being thinnest at the ortionthereof directly overlying the core 11 as at 13, and thicker at theouter portion overlying the outer ring of hard rubber 10. This layer 12thus serves as the means for attachin the heel directly to the bottomsole of t e shoe and at the same time interes a relatively smallthickness of soft material between the heel of the foot and the innercore of the rubber heel.

In the practice of my invention, the rubher heel may either be made upcomplete with the layer 12 thereon and then secured directly to theshoe, or the heel could be made up without the layer 14 but the bottomsole of the shoe modified so as to have at the heel portion the shapeand comparative dimenslons of the layer 12, so that in either eventthere shall be only a comparatively thin layer of soft leatherinterposed between the'rubbcr heel and the heel of the foot. Y

Having thus described'my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent In a shoe construction, a heelunit of the characterdescribed comprising a soft, re-

silient rubber core, a hard, less resilient rubber shell integrallyformed about the sides and bottom of said core, said shell havingopenings extending up from the bottom side thereof adapted to receivefastening means,isaid core being arranged to extend above the level ofthe shell, and a single top layer of pliable material of varyingthickness forming a portion of the sole of the shoe, said layer havingits thinnest section adapted 'to receive and yieldingly transmit shocksto said core for absorption. 7

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LOUIS S. SIEGFRIED.

